


for you i'd write a symphony

by shuanime



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Fluff, Humor, M/M, alcohol warning!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-17 11:47:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29224932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shuanime/pseuds/shuanime
Summary: soulmate au where if your soulmate is listening to music it'll be stuck in your head till they stop listening to it. joshua starts producing music so he can talk to jeonghan through it.
Relationships: Hong Jisoo | Joshua/Yoon Jeonghan
Comments: 9
Kudos: 128





	for you i'd write a symphony

**Author's Note:**

> hello omg bun im sorry if i made u wait for a long time aaaaa but here it is!!!! thank you for your support :]
> 
> please enjoy this messy fic dhsfksjf

_Ah._

Love is in the air.

The campus buildings are surrounded by park-like scenery that’s just calming to someone like Joshua. He grew up in the city—in its hustle and bustle and loud car honks and mean strangers and air pollution. That’s why being surrounded by green makes him feel at ease.

 _Inspired,_ even.

The weather today is nice, too. As he sits on one of the benches, notebook on his lap and ballpoint pen in his hand, he watches as couples snuggle around, sharing warmth in the cold autumn breeze.

_Must be nice._

He can’t really tell if the couples around him _are_ soulmates because it’s a deeply, musically _personal_ thing to each of the humans aboveground, but he can _assume,_ at least. If it were _him_ given the chance to giggle and snuggle with someone in broad daylight, it would be with his fated one.

“You’re staring at the couples again,” Jihoon sits next to him, but the action is more of a slump than anything. When Joshua doesn’t so much _blink,_ Jihoon waves a hand in his face. _“Quit looking already._ They might think I’m sitting with a weirdo.”

A pout forming on his face, Joshua swats his hand away.

“Aren’t you a little jealous?” He asks, lips jutting out in envy that he doesn’t even try to mask. “They’ve already found their soulmates. We’re music production majors and we haven’t found ours.”

“Seungkwan found his,” Jihoon points out, but his words are lost to Joshua who’s, once again, ogling at the people before him.

He has a point, though. Living in a world where your soulmate can hear the songs you hear... it’s a bit unlucky to still not find your soulmate despite studying _music_ —the very medium of communication between two hearts.

“I just think I should meet mine soon.” He rests his chin in his hands, blowing a puff of air that whisks the hair on his forehead only for it to flop back down. “I’ve been working _so_ _hard_ to get to them! They have to show up sooner, not _later.”_

Jihoon sighs. He knows how much Joshua has been looking forward to meeting his soulmate. If it weren’t for the fact that music is what leads a person to love, Joshua wouldn’t even consider going to the route of music production in college.

It started with him, at night, listening to a 4-hour long playlist named _For My Love_ and refusing to go to sleep without making sure he played it from start to finish. The songs were all... cheesy declarations of love—a bit too tacky for Jihoon. He wouldn’t listen to _Lady in Red_ every single night even if you _pay_ him to.

He genuinely feels for the guy—

He feels for Joshua’s _soulmate._ Not _Joshua._

Joshua can go trip and fall face first in a pile of dog shit for making his soulmate go through that pain every night.

“Maybe,” Jihoon _gently_ tries to make a suggestion, “you should stop playing your playlist, yeah? Your soulmate might be sick of hearing the same thing over and over—”

“How can you say that?” Joshua turns to him, horrified expression gracing his face. “I shouldn’t miss a chance to let them know how much I’m going to take care of them once we meet.”

“There are _many_ other ways to do that,” Jihoon doesn’t know why he’s still engaging in a conversation with someone who wouldn’t listen.

“Like what?”

 _“I don’t know—”_ Now, Jihoon still doesn’t know how much these mere mortal words could destroy someone’s life so easily “—write him a song or something.”

Joshua looks at him dumbly, and he expects him to laugh it off. After all, if you ask Jihoon, he’d say himself that music production _isn’t_ Joshua’s strong suit. Sure, he majors in it, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t only getting by through the lucky chance that when you’re on your first year in university, you get general education. Now that they’re on their second year, though, Jihoon is expecting to hear some wailing from his friend about how complicated the program is.

Joshua’s still figuring himself out. There’s no shame in shifting courses if his passion calls for it.

Jihoon secretly wishes he shifts to a different program as soon as possible because the friendship code says he has to be there for Joshua during partner activities, and he can’t have _any_ _more_ of _that._

But Joshua nods with _vigor,_ eyes twinkling like he just heard the greatest idea after Newton’s physics.

Being Joshua’s friend since birth... knowing Joshua’s skills in song writing...

Oh, _no._

He feels for the guy.

“What are you two doing here?” Before Jihoon could take that suggestion back, a voice asks from behind them. Hansol finds them sitting on one of the benches in this autumn cold, and he notes how Joshua is only wearing a long-sleeved shirt. “It’s chilly here. Let’s go back to the dorms.”

“Can’t. I have to record something at the studio,” Jihoon says, getting up at the sudden reminder, “Take Joshua to our room or anywhere else. He’s being a creep again.”

“I’m not,” Joshua says, looking up at Hansol for back up and then pouting at Jihoon.

Hansol laughs, ruffling his hair, “Alright. Now, come with me. We still have to ask if they have a vacant room for you.”

Joshua shakes his head, smiling. “I’ll come by later to ask about it myself. I just want to be alone for now.”

Taking off his jacket, Hansol drapes it around his friend.

“Wear this at least,” he says. Beside him, Jihoon sling his backpack strap on his shoulder. “Don’t stay out too long.”

“I won’t, I won’t,” he fake whines, playfully pushing them both away. “Go do your business. I’ll be fine here. I wanna look at the couples for a bit more.”

_“Weirdo.”_

“Jihoonie!”

“Ah, you two, stop it.” Hansol sighs, “Let’s have pizza at the roof later. Don’t be late, both of you.”

With some nods from the two, Hansol is satisfied. Both he and Jihoon left the romantic alone, and Joshua couldn’t be more thankful with the space they’re letting him have whenever he gets all...

_Gooey._

Uh-huh. That’s the word.

He didn’t stay behind just to ogle at the romance around him—that’s a given, but he also wanted some time to think, and Jihoon and Hansol’s dorm room can get stuffy. Some time alone would be nice.

The trees are a golden shade, sparse in spots, with the dried leaves scattered on the roots. Joshua thinks some inspiration is coming to him.

With another glance at the happy couples around him, lone Joshua scribbles down some words on his notebook.

With this song that he’s about to make, he wishes his soulmate can hear his heart.

But he needs to hurry up. It’s getting colder as the sun sets and he still needs to inquire about a spot in the university dormitories if he wants to have somewhere to sleep in in a few days to come.

* * *

Vision blurring, Jeonghan can’t even tell where he is right this moment, but he can feel everyone’s eyes on him. He just raised his head from where his cheek was on the desk.

Unbeknownst to him, nap lines streak his face. Some dried drool peeks at the corner of his mouth.

He feels like _shit,_ but he’s finally rested.

Kind of.

“You fell asleep through everything again,” Seungcheol clicks his tongue, gathering his things. People are filing out of the lecture hall, but all Jeonghan could comprehend at the moment is how _vicious_ the lighting is in this room. Not good at all for someone who just woke up.

Then again, this is an academic institution, and he just dozed through... two hours of his precious education.

“What was it this time?” Exasperated, Seungcheol asks.

“Justin Bieber’s _One Less Lonely Girl,”_ Jeonghan mutters under his breath, burying his head in his arms on the desk again. “Took me six bottles of soju to pass out.”

The lights in this lecture hall makes his head hurt, and so does the reminder that his soulmate—somewhere out there—can listen to one Bieber song. On repeat. For the _entire_ night.

 _Only you shawty_ is stuck in his head.

A sympathetic whine is all that he gets from his friend. Very helpful.

Once they got to the cafeteria (because, let’s face it, despite having a _hefty_ sum as allowance, Jeonghan has to eat closer to campus if he doesn’t want to be late to his next class), they immediately situate themselves in their usual table. Mingyu’s already there, and Jeonghan can tell he’s cramming a paper, typing really fast as he multitasks. He doesn’t seem like he needs help, with how efficient he is as he shoves that egg roll in his mouth while his left hand types the word _cacophonously_ on the word processor.

Seungcheol and Jeonghan set down their trays, but Mingyu barely looks up to greet them.

The deadline must be right after lunch, then.

“Don’t talk to me, don’t even _perceive_ me,” Mingyu says through a mouthful of rice, focused at his work, “I need this finished in the next thirty minutes.”

“I’m pretty sure you can just, you know, do homework at home,” Jeonghan nags, “Cramming is not a healthy way of life—”

 _“—and—”_ Mingyu says, raising a brow without sparing him a glance “—sleep is literally needed for human survival, but you _don’t_ sleep. You get wasted instead. _You_ can’t tell _me_ about healthy ways of life.”

“Oh, come on, let’s just eat,” Seungcheol tries to mediate, “There’s no point arguing. You _both_ suck at life.”

“He sucks _more_ ,” Jeonghan grumbles as he stabs a pork cutlet with his chopsticks.

Mingyu mumbles a small _The_ _Walking Dead_ comment about Jeonghan, but the bickering dissipates like it always does. Sometimes, Seungcheol knows peace.

Convinced that food is the only way he can keep up with his energy use, Jeonghan wolfs down the food in front of him as he pretends Mingyu doesn’t exist. Seungcheol goes on about what he missed in class. But his mind is elsewhere, and his attention is caught by something else.

By one particular person.

There’s always this _guy.._. sitting on the same table as the music majors. God knows what they do—Jeonghan was born with a scalpel in his hand, he doesn’t know shit about music aside from what his soulmate force-feeds him every night (which isn’t anything to go by because they’re _very_ bad).

The table is always eventful. Laughter can be heard, but not boisterous and obnoxious. They’re always talking like something’s so _fascinating._

Jeonghan looks at his own friends. They both tend to get chatty, too, with mouths that big, but when they’re together like this, cramming and sleep-deprived, there isn’t much to talk about. They equally value silence.

What catches his attention most about that friend group is _that_ guy.

That guy who talks with his eyes all...

_...twinkly._

Jeonghan doesn’t understand him. He looks perky, wide-eyed, and there’s just this air of _cheer_ surrounding him. Like he _sleeps_ well at night. His friends seem to dote on him, too, and Jeonghan watches them every lunch so he knows what he’s talking about.

Jeonghan doesn’t like it. Or maybe he’s just used to looking at the mirror and being greeted by his own baggy, lifeless eyes.

 _Anyway,_ that’s not what he’s getting at.

To cut it short, he finds the guy pretty—an _objective_ observation from someone who _has eyes._ It’s not like he wants to date him. He doesn’t plan on dating at all because why waste time when the one destined for you is somewhere out there. He’d rather just wait and work hard so he has something to be proud of when they finally do cross paths.

Besides.

That perky, twinkly guy must have already found his soulmate. Pretty _and_ a music major... and all that.

“Mm! That reminds me—” Seungcheol swallows the food in his mouth, pointing his chopsticks at Jeonghan “—aren’t you going to meet your new roommate soon?”

“You’re getting a roommate?” Mingyu asks, interest finally piqued. “Didn’t you say you paid _not_ to have one?”

“Yeah, that was then, when I thought I would be sleeping in peace.” Jeonghan mourns his freshman ideals. Now in his third year as a medicine major, he hasn’t had a _wink_ of proper sleep in about a _year_ now. “I’m pretty much awake all night now, so a roommate wouldn’t be too bad. And the admin asked me to give the space to a student who badly needs it. Apparently, my roommate was originally from the US so he doesn’t have a permanent address here and his apartment lease just ended. He doesn’t have anywhere else to go but the male dorms.”

“You have _such_ a big heart, hyung,” Mingyu snickers.

“Fuck you.”

“When are you guys meeting?” Seungcheol asks. “Can I come?”

That’s suspicious. “What for?”

Shrugging a shoulder, Seungcheol replies, “Roommate might be cute, I have to call dibs first.”

Jeonghan sighs, downing all the water in his cup before getting up to take his food tray back. “He’s all yours. I’m not interested.”

“You talk like you’re done with life.”

“That’s because I almost am.”

“Grumpy.” Sticking out his tongue, Seungcheol looks at Mingyu for sympathy, but Mingyu’s sucked back into his homework due in minutes.

And when he turns back to Jeonghan, the other is already steps away, walking towards the lunch lady.

Ugh.

_Grumpy._

* * *

The male dormitories of this university itself... isn’t that bad, Joshua tells himself.

Sure, he has to share a common shower with other people, and this makes him vulnerable to being seen naked...

He can just shower quicker. Having a roof over his head in a country he’s not so familiar with should be the only selling point, anyway. But really, it’s not _that_ bad.

The fridge in the kitchen always has snacks. Hansol and Jihoon are just downstairs in case he needs them, or in case they want to hang out. Wonwoo, the resident adviser, is also pretty nice, if not for the fact that he _will_ passive-aggressively knock on your door and recite the rule against loud noises past 9 PM as soon as the clock strikes 9 PM. That never bothers Joshua because he’s pretty quiet. Generally, his roommate is, too.

And, really, Joshua loves seeing the good in people. He tried, countless of times to see the good in Yoon Jeonghan...

But so far, he’s only seeing a devil incarnate who’s out to annoy him _every_ waking moment.

And that’s saying a _lot_ because his roommate is always _awake._ Joshua hasn’t been staying here for more than a week, but he would be dumb not to notice the pattern. He was already tired the moment they met, and even that was...

Let’s just say it was _eventful._

***

“Hi,” Joshua stuck out his hand, “I’m Joshua Hong. I’m gonna be your roommate from now on.”

The man only stared at his hand.

Joshua watched, hand hovering in the air, waiting for a handshake to come as his roommate slowly took a sip from his mug (which, surprisingly, is shaped like a cartoon cow’s head).

_Alright._

A bit _rude,_ but he seemed tired, so Joshua willed himself to understand.

“Ah—” He didn’t know what to do with his neglected handshake so he took the hand behind his back. Smiling sweetly (because Joshua might not know what it’s like to be a med student, but he knew all programs are difficult in their own ways and he didn’t want to add to this person’s burdens), he asked, “Is that milk? Can I have some? I’m thirsty—”

In a show of _I’m-not-the-picky-kind-of-roommate-I’m-good-at-sharing_ vibes, Joshua took the mug from his roommate and drank from it.

Bad mistake.

Spitting out the _liquid fire_ that just assaulted his mouth and throat, Joshua gasped for air.

“What the—why are you drinking _soju_ at—” he glanced at the clock _“—8 in the morning!?”_

“It’s blueberry-flavored.” The roommate didn’t seem bothered at all, chuckling a little at the liquid dripping down Joshua’s chin. “Yoon Jeonghan.”

Before Joshua could ask him further about it, _Yoon Jeonghan_ turned around to lie in his bed which was just a few feet away from Joshua’s.

“Don’t make too much noise,” he said, voice muffled as he covered his face with a pillow, “I haven’t slept.”

***

First impressions aside, Joshua has realized three things about his roommate.

One: His roommate does not sleep.

Two: He’s grumpy about it.

Three: He is _very_ sloppy.

The first two doesn’t bother him so much as the third. It has been the subject of his annoyance lately.

If he rants about it to his friends, it’s not accidental.

“He just... he’s the entire definition of my pet peeve!” Joshua cries out, though no tears really do come out. Jihoon shakes his head unbelieving while Hansol nods along to offer some support. “He _peeves_ me!”

A question mark forms on Hansol’s face. _Peeves?_

“You have to understand that you will come across different people in life,” Jihoon offers generously, “Think of it as a challenge—”

“He left his used underwear on my newly-changed sheets,” Joshua says in horror, burying his face in his hands as he’s reminded off that... _icky encounter._

Now, Jihoon is _enraged._

“What!? Why did he—Is he a pervert!?”

“Whoa, whoa, slow down,” Hansol butts in, “We can’t be calling people names. We don’t know the guy.”

 _Okay,_ maybe Joshua should’ve added in the _tiny_ detail that the underwear in question was a _sweaty_ white tank top that Jeonghan uses when he works out.

“I might have exaggerated a little bit,” Joshua mumbles.

With that, Jihoon already knows he exaggerated _a lot._

“It’s just that he doesn’t sleep at night,” Joshua continues as he recalls all the time he wakes up in the middle of the night to adjust his earphones so that they better fit in his ears as he sleeps. “I’d always catch him drinking soju or beer or _both_ until dawn. He’s always studying and drinking at night, so in the afternoons, as soon as he gets home, he’ll just remove his clothes and throw them everywhere before passing out from exhaustion!”

Hansol nods, ever the understanding guy that he is. “Maybe it’s their workload. Med students have it tough.”

“Oh... that’s hell,” Jihoon says with a sour taste in his mouth. “Producing music can be tough work, too, but when I get inspiration it’s almost like I’m not working and the exhaustion is nonexistent,” he rubs the back of his neck, “I can’t imagine the same goes for med students who have to alway know what they’re doing.”

“See?” Hansol spreads his arms like a slice of life manga protagonist, “We shouldn’t _judge_ people.”

Jihoon makes a face because he’s _right._

“Okay, Barney the Purple Dinosaur, _we get it.”_

Joshua giggles at the way Hansol’s face turns even _more_ confused at the nickname.

“Speaking of producing,” Jihoon suddenly remembers, “Don’t we have that one project? Have you two finished?”

“Is it... is it an individual project?” Joshua asks because he _hasn’t_ heard of anything about a project.

And to his horror, Jihoon nods. “Yeah, we have to perform an original love song. We can find someone to record it for us, or sing it ourselves, doesn’t matter—as long as the song is good, we’ll pass.”

“Ah, man,” Hansol leans back on his chair with a sigh, “I haven’t started on mine. I keep pushing it back to procrastinate.”

“Me too!” Jihoon groans, “I don’t have the inspiration I kept bragging about.”

The two fall silent as they both stare at Joshua who is now stirring his cucumber-melon smoothie with the straw.

Joshua stares back, confused... until he realizes with a jolt on his seat that they’re expecting him to lament with them.

“Oh, me?” he points to himself. “I’m already done with that.”

“What do you mean _done?”_ Jihoon squints, suspicious of his nonchalance. Even Hansol doesn’t seem convinced that this was achieved through _ethical_ means. “You’re always last to this. You can’t even run _GarageBand_ on your own.”

Shrugging, Joshua takes a sip of his drink before saying, “Done as in I have the song written and recorded.”

Jihoon crosses his arms in front of his chest. “Let’s hear it.”

A minute and forty seconds later, his two friends share a glance before telepathically making a decision. Together, they shall attempt to give a...

A review.

 _This is for Joshua’s good,_ Jihoon says with his gaze.

With a determined bob of his head, Hansol silently concurs. _Agreed._

“I must say,” It’s Hansol who speaks first, and it’s definitely a _painful_ scene for Jihoon, “you have, what the experts would call—” he clears his throat because experts would never listen to something like this “—a _rare..._ talent.”

“Yeah,” Jihoon nods along rapidly, “But... err.... you might want to reconsider submitting this—”

“What?” Joshua asks, fiddling with the audio file on this phone. _“Why?”_

“The songs is...”

This is too difficult. The vocals are great, of course, Joshua has this mellow, airy tone when he sings. But the song itself—

How can you tell your friend to give up on something he’s working on just because he sucks _tremendously_ at it? But at the same time, they don’t want him to make a fool out of himself. And it’s not like _this_ is his passion.

Joshua’s still dipping his toes in puddles. Testing things out.

“I don’t know how to put it nicely—”

 _“Bad.”_ Jihoon sighs as he finishes Hansol’s sentence. “It’s _really_ bad, Joshua. Trust me when I say you won’t get a decent grade on it.”

They thought Joshua would at least feel _bad,_ and they’ve already prepared a pep talk in their heads in case their friend sulks, but to their surprise, he just _shrugs._

_Uh-fucking-oh._

“I wouldn’t worry about it,” Joshua says dreamily, caging his chin on his palm. _“I_ think it’s really good, and I think my _soulmate_ does, too.”

Hansol and Jihoon’s jaws are _on the floor._

“I have confidence in my craft.”

“You—You listen to this, too? Every night!?” Jihoon asks.

“On loop?” Hansol follows.

“Yup!”

It doesn’t have to be said. His two friends are in sync when they bury their faces in the hands miserably.

“Oh, god...” Jihoon mumbles, praying for whose soul is being tormented by Joshua Hong every single night. “You gotta _stop_ doing that.”

* * *

_Candy sprinkle, bathroom tinkle_

_When you smile, your eyes twinkle_

_Casper the Ghost might be too scared_

_Because you have a sexy beard_

_Baby, baby, baby_

_Ooh~_

He tries his hardest not to pull his hair out. Instead, he grits his teeth, and if he clenches harder, he’ll probably get another earful from his dentist.

_Shut up._

There’s something about this... novelty gum commercial-like song and the 20 minutes left on his midterm exam that makes him want to just _perish._

Why his soulmate decided to listen to what Jeonghan thinks is an _original_ composition (because of how _otherworldly_ the lyrics are) in the middle of the day, he doesn’t know. His soulmate usually keeps him up at night when he’s studying for the test, not in the afternoon when he’s _taking_ said test.

But he _does_ know that he can’t think of the answers—the material that he efficiently crammed in his brain with mnemonics and lots and lots of alcohol to stay awake is gone. Poof. Just like that. Now replaced with rhymes about tinkling in the bathroom.

Jeonghan has never heard anything worse than this. He’d take Justin Bieber any day now.

The voice singing isn’t bad at all—if he focuses on _that_ part of the song (he shouldn’t focus on the song _at all_ because he’s in the middle of an important examination), he can tell that the singer has such a soft voice. A part of him wonders if that’s the voice of his soulmate.

If so, then he sounds kind of like his airhead roommate. Jeonghan can’t really say his roommate is bad, but he’s pretty sure Joshua doesn’t make songs like this. He might be a bit slow and entertainingly innocent at times, but he’s a music production major in one of the top universities, so... _duh._

This song stuck in his head (Jeonghan will call it _Baby_ because that word took up at least three-fourths of the lyrics) is just so awful.

What’s worse is that it’s actually a _catchy_ tune that will stick on you whether you like it or not, a relationship like Spongebob and the earworm’s.

And the lyircs?

Has he _mentioned_ the lyrics...?

Jeonghan has _no words_ to describe them.

“For the love of god,” Jeonghan bangs his head on the table, but Mingyu and Seungcheol do not seem bothered about it at all. It’s a pretty common sight. “I just want to be a doctor and save lives. Please, stop...”

“Soulmate again?” Mingyu asks. This time he isn’t cramming a paper, so they can eat together at a decent pace and actually pay attention to their friend’s needs. “What is it this time?”

“An original song,” Jeonghan groans in utter agony, “Something about babies and beards.”

Seungcheol looks warmed by that. “Come on, maybe it isn’t _that_ bad—”

That sets off the raging _violence_ inside Jeonghan. With eyes about to go _crazy,_ he abruptly gets up, grabbing Seungcheol by the collar of his shirt from across the table as he slowly _enunciates_ in his face, “How _dare_ you... it’s _so_ bad... “ He grasps at the fabric, and Seungcheol tires to get away, but he’s rooted to the spot by the _desperation_ in his friend’s eyes. “This _noise_ my soulmate calls music is so, _so_ bad.”

“A—Alright then,” Seungcheol blinks. He doesn’t know if he’s _scared_ or if he feels bad for his buddy.

Mingyu snickers, “Jeonghan-hyung, sit back down. You’re making people stare.”

With a dramatic voiceless squeal, Jeonghan slides back down his seat, curling up into a ball with no regard of the fact that he’s in the middle of the cafeteria.

Laughter can be heard from a table nearby. The music majors are having so much fun again.

They look well-rested. _Fuck them._

Jeonghan’s gaze flits to his roommate whose cheeks are full of what he thinks is meatloaf. Has he mentioned that the person he was objectively calling pretty turned out to be his roommate?

Yeah.

Well, at least he has him as a form of entertainment during his wakeful nights. Joshua Hong is a peculiar guy—dewy-eyed and surprisingly uptight. But these are not bad traits, if you ask him.

He thinks it suits the guy.

“You’re quiet,” Seungcheol points out, “Have you gotten over your meltdown?”

 _He’s lost it,_ Mingyu mouths silently, but Seungcheol doesn’t condone making too much fun of someone suffering. Karma (Yoon Jeonghan) is a bitch, and he doesn’t want to fuck with a bitch and _potentially_ lose a testicle.

“Just listen to equally bad songs,” Mingyu suggests, “Give him a taste of his own medicine.”

Jeonghan doesn’t even listen to him anymore. _Of course,_ he’s thought of that already.

The thing with playing bad songs is that the chance that his soulmate would _enjoy_ it more than _have a taste of his own medicine_ is _greater._

Throughout the weeks, the song—

Or should he say _songs..._ just get progressively ugly.

And Jeonghan is just _done._

There are more and more songs—all original compositions that have hideous lyrics. And he’s so sure his soulmate is fucking with him now.

He knows he’s supposed to care for his soulmate, but he wouldn’t _really_ _mind_ that much if said soulmate fell asleep for like...

The entirety of his university life. Just until he graduates, maybe? And then Jeonghan will have to find his soulmate and force them to stop playing the horrible songs because he can’t be an efficient neurosurgeon in the future if all he can think about are lyrics to horrid songs.

That might be a little too harsh, but Jeonghan is _suffering. Let him be._

To alleviate his stress and to survive his _extremely_ difficult, _boss-level_ life, he pokes Joshua.

Like... _literally_ pokes him.

Joshua likes to lounge in his bed, scribbling on his tiny purple notebook. Jeonghan will definitely try to peek at it one of these days since he looks like he’s really concentrating on it. And it would be fun to see his reactions.

Jeonghan has always liked sitting on the floor, and when he sees feet dangling off the edge of his roommate’s bed...

He gets ideas.

Crawling silently, he moves so that he’s nearer the target. And when he gets there, he raises his finger and—

“AH!” Joshua shrieks, hastily backing up against his bedframe and bringing his knees to his chest as he rubs on his sole, “Yoon Jeonghan! Stop it!”

Wiggling all ten of his fingers in front of him, Jeonghan lets out an evil laugh—a solid _MWA-HA-HA-HA_ that makes _fear_ cross his roommate’s eyes. Tickles _always_ work.

God, he’s so fun to tease.

The thing about Joshua Hong is that he’s so easy to read. Jeonghan can easily tell when he’s embarrassed as he sputters and blushes all over the place like that one time Jeonghan walked in _whistling_ in the communal showers. He can easily tell when Joshua is trying to be impressive. Like that one time he neatly displayed his crocheted pieces in the dorm room. Jeonghan could _immediately_ tell, with how Joshua hovered around him whenever he looks at one of those crocheted Genshin Impact slimes, that his roommate wanted to hear praises.

Of course, Jeonghan didn’t give the praise he wanted. Not until Joshua _explicitly_ asked for one.

_I heard you like Pokemon. I made a mini Squirtle keychain, too. It was pretty difficult. Don’t you think it’s nice?_

What was Jeonghan supposed to? Ignore him?

Boy, that was _adorable._

A part of him now thinks it wouldn’t be so bad if his soulmate is someone like Joshua. It would be nice.

Since then, life became a fraction nicer, save from the sleepless nights. He doesn’t bother Joshua when he’s sleeping because Jeonghan is a moderate kind of asshole. He knows how precious sleep is, as someone who almost never has it.

Oh, and another weird thing.

Joshua always sleeps with his earphones on.

Jeonghan’s usually bombarded by his own soulmate with the ugly songs during that time, but he’s learned to mute it at night with sheer will-power, sometimes lots and lots of alcohol. But he noticed that aside from the fact that Joshua sleeps like a log—no, really, once he falls asleep, he doesn’t wake up until the sun peeks from the horizon—Joshua _always_ has his earphones on.

Huh.

That just gives Jeonghan _more_ ideas.

* * *

“Ah, Shua,” Jeonghan greets him with a smile, “Good morning.”

In the mornings, Jeonghan should be difficult. Usually the med student would be grumpy, trudging to the showers as he mutters I only got an hour of sleep, and Joshua expects him to be extra rude as soon as the sun rises.

Apparently, he has a 7 AM class. Rest in peace.

So, seeing him _beaming_ so early in the morning makes hairs on the back of Joshua’s neck stand.

_Is he... Is he up to something?_

“I made you breakfast.” Jeonghan gestures to two slices of white bread on a paper plate sitting on the table.

He’s being nice unprompted—He’s really up to something. A hundred percent _sure_ he’s up to something.

“What—” Joshua gulps, and it’s _nasty_ because he just woke up and he hasn’t brushed his teeth “—what do you need from me?”

“Um, I have a question and I want you to answer honestly?” Jeonghan asks and it would be of good nature if not for the fact that for the entire weeks that he has been staying here, since he step foot in this dorm room, Joshua has been endlessly made flustered by his roommate.

“What are you on again?”

“I’m a nice roommate, alright?”

“Alright,” Joshua drawls, agreeing just to pull whatever the _frick_ it is out of him, “What is it?”

“Why do you always have earphones on?”

“...”

Now, it’s one thing to tell his friends all about his original songs, but Joshua knows the danger of being seen as a corny, cheesy, and other food-y person for doing this.

Knowing Yoon Jeonghan and his passion for annoying him so much, Joshua tries to act...

 _Mature_ about it.

“Hmm...” Joshua says after a long, suspicious second, shifting his weight from one foot to another as he tries to take on an alpha pose that’s really just more like his man tiddies are jutting out in the air, “It’s a... personal thing.”

But the air that he thinks he’s putting around himself isn’t coming off as mysterious.

If anything, it makes Jeonghan grin wide like a cat—his _scheming_ face.

“So, like, you listen to something...” dropping his voice low, Jeonghan leans in to ask “...dirty?”

Hair sticking out in places and eye droopy from sleep, Joshua jumps out of his bed in a defensive stance.

“No—No. What are you—” He stomps his foot, and Jeonghan’s heart bursts in delight when his face turns a nice shade of tomato red “—why are you always so vulgar!?”

“Relax,” Jeonghan says, fighting off the urge to snicker because this is just too good. He lies down on his own bed about to finally sleep. The songs are gone from his head now. “We’re both men. I understand you have... _needs._ It must’ve been hard having a roommate, huh? No need to be shy, just text me the right emoji and I’ll let you have the room for your private time—”

“I don’t need a private time!” Joshua screeches.

“Sure,” Jeonghan winks, watching him blow up, “Gonna get some rest now.”

“Go get your _stupid_ rest!”

“Oh, I will,” Grinning really hard under the covers, Jeonghan teases further. When he close his heavy eyelids, he can see a red-faced Cinnamoroll about to explode.

“Fine!”

Joshua walks out of the room, making a whole show of slamming the door shut behind him...

...only for him to have to come back fifteen seconds later, head hung low, because he forgot to get his stuff and he’s _not_ about to walk butt naked from the communal showers.

* * *

“Guys,” Joshua suddenly speaks amidst a movie he’s seeing with Jihoon and Hansol. The two just barely move, though, eyes glued on the screen of the laptop on Joshua’s lap. They always have there movie nights, where Joshua is sandwiched in between his two best friends. Jihoon would hold the beverage—a tumbler of Cola, in charge of bringing the straw to whoever’s mouth needs it. And Hansol would hold the bowl of slightly over-popped popcorn.

“Hmm?”

“What does...” Joshua shifts, squeezing himself in more until their arms are over his. He like being squished. It feels safe and warm. “Sending the right emoji means?”

“Uh, is it like for a booty call?” Hansol says distractedly, bringing a finger to scratch at his brow. “Like when you want to... do things with... someone... you send the fork and knife emoji and the cat emoji?”

That piques Joshua’s interest. “Does it have to be those emojis?”

“Could be an eggplant and a peach, too, I guess.”

“You two are nasty,” Jihoon reprimads, “Focus on the movie.”

“You’re just looking at Captain America’s butt, though.”

Jihoon scoffs, turning slightly pink—a sight to behold because it’s not always that they get him flustered like this. “It’s art! Can you blame me for appreciating art?”

Hansol laughs at the banter, twisting in his seat like he always does when he laughs—

And then something _cracks._

“Huh?” Hansol’s laughter dies down when he hears it. He stands, only to reveal a broken in-ear stuck to his chair where he was just sitting. He then lifts it up. “Whose earphones are these?”

Standing in a hurry to grab the earphones off his hands, Joshua gasps so loud, it almost sounds fake.

 _“Hansol Vernon Chwe!”_ Joshua warns in a tone most mothers would use when their child is in _big_ trouble. He examines the “You broke them!”

“Oh, _hehe,_ ” Hansol smiles sheepishly, “My bad. I’ll get you a new one.”

But Joshua needs a new one now or else he wouldn’t be able to listen to his songs overnight—meaning his soulmate won’t be listening to it, too. What if they _forget_ Joshua’s existence?

How is he supposed to listen to music now? How is he supposed to make his soulmate listen to his declarations of love?

How is he supposed to let his soulmate know he’s there?

“Hey, are you upset?” Hansol tugs at his sleeve when he doesn’t speak for quite a bit. “I’ll buy you better ones.”

“I’m not,” Joshua sighs, settling back down with a gentle smile. He pats Hansol’s arm to ease any anxiousness that his silence might’ve caused. “I’m a bit bummed that I can’t listen to songs tonight.”

“That’s good, right? Giving your soulmates a break?” Jihoon butts in.

“No, no,” Joshua tries to explain his side, “I believe my soulmate loves them. I’ve never gotten a bad response—” He’s never gotten a response _at all_ “—they haven’t really listened to mean, rude songs, so I’m assuming they love it, too. They might think I’m gone it if I don’t play them tonight.”

Jihoon doesn’t understand the logic behind that at all.

“You can play them on your phone,” Hansol suggests, and as soon as he does, Jihoon sends him _glaring_ signals from Joshua’s other side but he doesn’t notice. “You said your roommate doesn’t sleep. If you keep the volume low, it wouldn’t be too bad for him.”

Stepping into the dorm room he shares with the most annoying gremlin in existence, Joshua keeps his cool.

He _has_ to ask Jeonghan about it out of respect. Anything for his soulmate.

“Sure,” Jeonghan smiles reassuringly when he does, looking pretty exhausted enough that he doesn’t make a witty joke about it.

“I won’t be loud,” Joshua mutters, staring at his shoes because this is... he’s getting _shy,_ okay?

“No, it’s okay, I don’t mind listening to some of your songs.”

Joshua’s a bit thrown off. What could possibly be happening to the world right now that’s making this _dude_ act so _decent?_

“...Okay, then.”

It has been a whole day. Jeonghan’s soulmate hasn’t played a single song.

Weird.

No, it’s so _wrong._ Why isn’t there a random tune about pickle juice being used as a metaphor for love in his head right now?

Jeonghan should use this opportunity to sleep, but he needs to stay up anyway and cram all the material for tomorrow’s test. Talk about not being there when he actually needs those awful, wretched songs to stay up.

As he sits by his study table, he tries his best to read this chunk of text from a book as thick as his thigh. He tries really, really hard, but the absence of music stuck in his head is gradually unsettling him.

What if something bad happened to his soulmate—

Nah. Jeonghan tries to steer his mind to the best case scenario. Maybe this is the start of... normal human sleep.

A catchy tune—one that’s _overly_ familiar—is caught by his ears. The music in the background is faint, and if he doesn’t pay attention, he wouldn’t notice that by Joshua’s bed is a phone that’s playing a song he _has_ certainly heard before.

In fact, it was stuck in his head just yesterday.

Maybe Joshua likes the same artist, Jeonghan tries to focus on his work as he convinces himself that this is just a coincidence.

But several minutes have passed and the entire playlist being played is just becoming more and more like a commonplace—

“Hey, Shua?”

Joshua looks up from his scribbling on his small notebook. “Yes?”

Holding his breath, Jeonghan tries to ease him into a conversation.

“Who’s the artist your playing?”

“Why?” Joshua’s eyes light up, and Jeonghan gets a _very_ bad feeling about this. “You like it?”

_“You could say that...”_

Proudly, Joshua walks to him, phone in hand, and the closer he gets, the louder the music gets—

It bothers him.

Racking his brain for a logical reasoning behind that feeling, Jeonghan reaches a stalemate with his own worries when he realizes that Joshua’s music bothers him for two reasons:

1) His soulmate should be blasting his original songs by now but he’s _not_ and aside from the fact that that’s _so_ out of character—

2) Joshua’s playlist is _literally_ all those original songs compiled.

Oh.

_OH._

_Fuck._

Without another word, Jeonghan stands in haste and walks to him, snatching the phone out of his hands and turning the music off.

“You’re kidding me,” is all that Jeonghan can say in utter _disbelief._ Crazy eyes are back as he stares at Joshua Hong’s thrown off expression. “You’re really—? This is _insane.”_

“What—Are you out your mind!?” Joshua doesn’t know why he’s suddenly being attacked (Jeonghan’s a solid meter away from him but Joshua’s _on the defense)_. “Give that back!”

Jeonghan only raises the phone away, and it shouldn’t be a struggle for Joshua to retrieve it from the grasp of his roommate, but something in Jeonghan’s eyes is making him weak.

“You listen to _this_ every night? You do this to your soulmate?”

“Yes, and so what?” Joshua huffs, trying to grab the phone back, but Jeonghan takes his wrists in one hand and he shouldn’t be that strong for someone who doesn’t rest. “Why do you care!? It’s how I express my love!”

“Express your love—” an incredulous laugh escapes Jeonghan. “What the f—Did you know that my body clock is literally _reversed_ now because of these songs?”

“This is the first time I’m playing those out loud, you can’t blame your bad sleeping habits on _me—”_

“Candy sprinkle. Bathroom tinkle,” Joshua’s world comes into a halt when Jeonghan recites the lyrics of one of his songs, “When you smile, your eyes twinkle. Casper the Ghost might be too scared. Because you have a sexy beard.”

Jeonghan does not feel like a winner after reciting that like it’s spoken word poetry.

Opening his mouth to seemingly say something, Joshua hesitates.

“I know your songs word for word because I remember them more than material for my exam.”

“You’re—”

“—yes—” Jeonghan succumbs to the sudden reality.

Joshua gasps, bringing a dramatic hand to his lips, “No—”

“Yes,” Jeonghan declares, ” I am.”

_“No...”_

“YES.”

“NO!” Joshua balls his fists as he stomps his foot _hard._ The floorboards are wooden, and they might get a knock from the resident adviser, but who cares? “N-No... it can’t be... you’re just a balding zombie who always does annoying things to me...”

Jeonghan looks _affronted._

“How dare you call me a balding zombie when you’re the reason why I can’t sleep?”

“Your receding hairline and matching eyebags speak volumes!”

“I’m your soulmate,” Jeonghan holds both of his shoulders, trying to make him accept it because, damn, this has been a whole circus act. The following words might have been harsh, but he didn’t think when he let them slip out. He was tired, and shocked, and brutally honest. “And I’m begging you to not play these horrible songs _ever_ _again.”_

What Jeonghan didn’t expect was the way Joshua would take his words.

“You don’t have to pack your bags,” Jeonghan says as he stands by the door, blocking it already while Joshua stuffs some articles of clothing like he’s running away from his parents’ home. “We can talk about this.”

He has to admit that he kind of did wait for this to happen. For him to finally meet the person behind the songs stuck in his head.

“You said my songs were _horrible,”_ comes the cold reply from Joshua. Or at least Joshua _thinks_ he’s being cold. With that petulant _pout_ on his face, Jeonghan could only make out the sulking.

He’s such a child.

“Yes,” Jeonghan sighs. “I did. And they aren’t _that_ horrible.”

Okay, he’s just lying through his teeth now. Earlier, the adrenaline rush of finding out that the person that had been _tormenting_ him every single night and even during important moments of his university life was just sleeping soundly like a big _baby_ on the bed next to his... that gush of realization made him blurt out an adjective (horrible) that sounds a bit too harsh.

And knowing his roommates marshmallow-y insides, he shouldn’t have said that. He could’ve said the word _funky_ or _mildewed_ or, hell, even the word _eccentric,_ if it came down to it. He could’ve been gentler with his words, but he said it already. What’s done is done. He can only be glad he was honest.

But now, he’s regretting being harsh because it sunk in him.

There’s this feeling of longingness that comes with the song that get stuck in your head when your soulmate is listening to it. No one talks about it—maybe the romantics of earlier times did, but now the collective thought is centered around how it’s inconvenient and bothersome. Tragic stories are born from this soulmate thing, too, so it’s hard to keep a positive outlook.

But, every day, Jeonghan wakes up—

No, he doesn’t even sleep. The point is: Every day, Jeonghan can hear these songs and he’s too focused on treating them like they’re making his life hell.

He realize now that maybe, just maybe, he forgot to feel the comfort it brought him. The comfort that came from knowing his soulmate is out there. Knowing his soulmate exists. Knowing that his love couldn’t be a tragedy because his soulmate is out there, listening to a tune that they care for.

The comfort from the hope that he’ll see his soulmate soon, and the emptiness in every person awaiting for their own is filled with that... missing puzzle piece.

And he owes it to Joshua... to show him just how much he waited for this moment.

Because Jeonghan forgot to give him that kind of comfort.

So he understands it better now, why Joshua was so desperately writing these songs and playing them every night. He understands now why Joshua wouldn’t let his soulmate miss one song.

Maybe he was scared, too. Scared of finding out that his soulmate wasn’t there to begin with.

Scared because Jeonghan was too wrapped up in inconveniences that he forgot that he can respond with a song of his own.

It was a call for acknowledgement, at the very least. And Jeonghan chose to ignore it.

He’s an asshole, indeed.

“I’m sorry I called them horrible,” Jeonghan says as he walks up to him. Joshua’s tense shoulders fall, and his hands stop what they’re doing. “I’m sorry I insulted your songs.”

“Do you mean that?”

“Yes, I do.” He brings a hand to Joshua’s shoulder. One squeeze. “I was just tired and I’m a complete asshole who doesn’t know how to appreciate the good things in life.”

“But you don’t like them...” Joshua’s voice is cracking, so Jeonghan panics and turns him around to see if there are any tears. And sure enough, there are.

Jeonghan never knew seeing them would crush his heart this bad.

“I didn’t say I don’t,” he explains, “I was just always tired because you played them on loop all night every night, that’s why I started associating them with my sleep-deprivation.” Joshua’s eyes water some more at those words, and Jeonghan just wants to be honest but he has to shut up at some point. “And your music taste isn’t really that good, like, Justin Bieber? _Really?”_

“This— _hic_ —doesn’t s-sound like an apology,” Joshua sobs. “You—you suck!”

“Look, look,” now, Jeonghan is kneeling on the floor while Joshua sits on the bed. He clasps Joshua’s hands in his, and the scene that they paint almost looks like he’s praying. “I don’t hate them—they’re special songs. You wrote them for me, remember?”

“Yeah,” Joshua sniffles, taking his one hand back so he can wipe his snot on his sleeve. Jeonghan still grabbed his hand back, anyway, after that. “I wrote them because I wanted you to know I’m somewhere. Waiting.”

Guilt creeps in Jeonghan’s spine. “I was waiting, too. The whole time.”

“You never listened to a song,” Joshua points out. “I thought I had no soulmate. Or that my soulmate wouldn’t want me anymore because they fell in love with someone else—”

“Hey,” Jeonghan interrupts his rambling because he look like he’ll be sobbing again. And Jeonghan can’t blame him because this might have been pent up anxiety and frustrations that he caused. “I’m here, aren’t I? I’m not going anywhere.”

Nodding, Joshua follows, blinking away the waters in his eyes.

“I’m sorry for saying those mean things,” Jeonghan continues. Joshua does seem like he’s listening well with how he’s nodding along. “I’m thankful to have found you already.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, here, I’ll share a secret with you.”

That seems to catch his interest. Joshua leans a little toward him even if they’re the only ones in the room. “What... What is it?”

Okay, Jeonghan suddenly feels sheepish, but he already said he’d do it.

“I was kind of hoping you’re my soulmate...” Jeonghan mumbles, scratching at his nape “...Or that my soulmate would be someone like you.”

Joshua replies with a straight face, “I kind of just thought you were really annoying.”

“...I deserve that.”

“Like really,” Joshua insists, “Really, _really.”_

“Alright,” Jeonghan says a bit louder, “That’s enough—"

“But I _don’t_ hate that you’re my soulmate.”

Glistening, longing eyes meet Jeonghan’s and for the first time...

For the first time he can see himself in them. And it’s exactly like seeing himself where he belongs.

“Thank you,” is all Jeonghan could muster to say because he has already willed himself to show it, show his gratitude more after this.

They have their whole lives ahead to be together now that they’ve found each other. And all Jeonghan wants to do is to do this with him. Whatever _this_ is supposed to be.

“I’ll stop listening to them,” Joshua promises, quietly linking their pinkies together, “I’m sorry if they’re ugly songs—I’m not really talented in music producing and song-writing. I barely got in the program. I’m really best suited for the liberal arts, but I went here anyway.”

“You don’t have to stop listening to them.” This is the comfort he failed to provide before. “I’ll move our beds together so we can listen to them before we sleep. You can tell me about them, what went through your mind when you wrote them... anything.”

“But you’re sick of it—”

“No, I’m not anymore.” Bringing Joshua’s hand on his lips, Jeonghan presses a kiss on the back of it. “I want to know you properly.” That earns him a smile from the pretty music major he always looked at from across the cafeteria table. “And I want you to know me as something else other than annoying.”

“Well, you’re also a drunkard for a med student,” Joshua offers with a sly shrug.

Oh, so he could play this game, too, after all.

Jeonghan finds himself captivated all over again.

“I’ll stop drinking, too, I promise.”

“Okay.”

Jeonghan smiles, and when Joshua smiles back, all thoughts melt off his mind.

“Okay.”

Jeonghan never felt so alive.

Maybe Joshua has ass music taste. Maybe his soulmate just so happened to think rhyming mage with cartilage is romantic.

But that doesn’t matter anymore. Listening to more Justin Bieber songs _daily_ is a small price to pay for this priceless gem in his arms.

What matters most is that now he can sleep well at night, embracing the one destined for him.

Ah.

Love is in the air.

**Author's Note:**

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